


Reach Out to the Truth

by metamagicmelody



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Persona Fusion, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Humor, Multi, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-11-12 00:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18000320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metamagicmelody/pseuds/metamagicmelody
Summary: When Riku was told he'd be staying with his uncle for a year, he'd expected a boring town and a predictable existence. At best, he'd make a friend or two. At worst, he'd put his head down and return to Tokyo no worse for the experience.But when tragedy strikes his new home, Riku finds himself at the center of a deadly mystery lurking beneath the shadows of this sleepy town. Who is responsible for the impossible murders? What is the true nature of the Midnight Channel? Why have Riku and his new friends been chosen, and what for?This year may end up being the most important of Riku's life.[Or, a Persona AU.]





	1. Adrift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub. For in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause." — _Hamlet_ , Act III, scene i.

He could hear the ocean.

The waves lapped at the surface of his thoughts, pushing and pulling at his consciousness. Under his back, he felt an uneven surface. It pressed into him, but there was no pain. His arms, resting on his chest, were crossed, his fingertips brushing his shoulders. He moved his hand experimentally, half-expecting pin-pricks, but that, too, was free from discomfort. His hands drifted from his shoulders, down and across his chest, and finally stopped on the surface he was lying on. Wooden.

He couldn’t remember anything. Where was he?

The boy extended his arms and hands farther, to the edge of his reach, and recoiled when he felt water. How long had he been lying here, so close? He put his hand through it, and found it was cool, flowing through his fingers and shifting around him. Huh. He hadn’t thought he’d been moving, but, now, his awareness seemed to kick in. Yes. He was moving. But to where?

Then, there were new sounds among the endless waves—the creaking of wood, the shifting of fabric. The boy opened his eyes, and was taken with the calm of the place where he had been slumbering. Blue, blue, blue, an expanse of sea and sky that was endless. He shifted, turned on his side, and could, barely, make out the form of a kayak, or something like it, floating in the water beside him. It moved at an identical pace, towards an identical location—namely, towards wherever the boy himself was headed. He squinted, and his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Two figures sat on either end of the kayak, staring out, their backs to the other. One, hooded, was wearing a cloak of inky night; the other had skin and hair as pale as moonlight. They did not see him. Or, to be exact, they were not looking in his direction. The boy, however, felt seen, even without the force of their gazes upon him.

“My,” said the cloaked figure. “This is _quite_ unusual.” His voice betrayed a smile, though the boy couldn’t be sure of its character.

The boy started to say something—a question, _any_ question—but the cloaked figure spoke again before the sound could come forth. “Welcome,” the man said, “to the Velvet Room. I am delighted to have another guest, and so soon after that _other_ boy. How _very_ unusual.” The man’s voice was like a song, the words hopping from one note to the next, but one that was shifted. It sounded to the boy as if he’d heard the song before, but the man had changed the melody, switched the position of the intervals, added a flat to the key. It put him on edge, even if he knew, somehow, he was safe here, in this vast ocean.

“My name is… unimportant!” The man laughed, an ugly _stop_ in the man’s personal musical, its harshness clashing against the silence and the waves. “You may call me…” He paused, humming to himself. “Igor, was it? That name has been long-associated with this place, though it is not _my_ name, per se. I do not mean to speak in riddles, my friend, but such is the nature of the Velvet Room.” He laughed again, though the boy had no idea what, if anything, was so funny.

“This ‘room’ exists between dream and death, heart and world. It is a room that very few may enter, and those that do are bound by a contract. Or, that is _usually_ the case. _This_ room appears to be extremely—”

“Unusual?” the boy asked.

“Utterly!” Igor said. “However, just because one has not yet forged a contract, does not mean one cannot grow, from circumstance or…” His hand moved through the air, grasping—or was it conducting?—until he found the word that he was looking for: “Destiny!” He turned to face the boy, but his face was hidden by both the shadow of this place and the hood over his head. “But what is _your_ name? You do remember, don’t you?”

“How could I forget my own name? It’s…” The boy faltered. _Had_ he forgotten? He closed his eyes, and—ah, there it was. “Riku. My name is Riku.”

Igor laughed, bigger and harsher, and Riku had half a mind to ask him what was so funny. Before he could, Igor spoke, yet again.

“My apologies. It’s simply that your name is ironic, given our current—or should I say _your_ current—situation. I do not mean to offend.” His hands stilled. “Though, to be frank, I care very little for what you think of me. Hate me, if you must. Love me, if you like. The choice, as ever, is yours.”

Riku decided, right then and there, that he would never _love_ Igor.

“Now… Do you know anything about fortune telling?” Riku shook his head. “A shame. The art of the arcana can give insight into a path that lies before you, and, perhaps, even the path you shall choose. Two readings can be identical, but no two are ever the same. A reading can bring order, or it can bring chaos. Peace of mind… or anxiety over what is yet to come. And though a fate can shift, can change entirely, _destiny_ is never left to chance. I wonder—”

“Master,” interrupted the woman from her side of the kayak. “May I?” Riku took a better look at her, and saw in the dimness that her hair wasn’t white, but tinted blue, reflecting, perhaps the sky and the sea.

“Oh? Taking an interest in our guest, Aqua?” A pause, during which there was no response from the woman. Igor clapped his hands together, the leather of his gloves muffling the noise. “Very well. You may do the reading.”

Aqua, unlike her master, did not turn to look at Riku, instead concentrating on something in the distance, something Riku could not see. She waved a hand and cards, shimmering and sky blue, appeared before her, hovering above the edge of the kayak and illuminating the woman, if only a little. She appeared to think for a moment, then touched the first. It revealed itself, the card appearing before Riku’s eyes. He saw lightning, striking a tower, throwing people from its height to fall, presumably, to their deaths.

Riku frowned. “Well, that’s a great start,” he said, voice flat. Aqua huffed out a laugh, so short that Riku wasn’t sure he hadn’t imagined it.

“You… are not wrong. This card is the Tower, in the upright position. It represents your immediate future. Something… terrible is coming. Maybe the future beyond that…?” Her fingers brushed against a second card, and one with the moon appeared before Riku, upright. “Hmm… Hesitation, or mystery, maybe? Interesting.” For the first time, she looked at Riku, the light from the still glowing cards illuminating a soft smile and golden, unblinking, eyes. “But I’m sure you’ll be able to find the truth, right, Riku?”

“I…” Riku trailed off. “Do I have a choice?”

“Remember what the Master said, Riku. You _always_ have a choice. But…” Aqua closed her eyes, an emotion that Riku couldn’t quite read flashing across her face. “The next year is… important. I can see the threads of your destiny, and the destinies of others, weaved together into whatever mystery lies before you. The future— _your_ future, I mean—could be lost to the darkness. Much like the darkness that surrounds you now.” She stopped, abruptly, and turned away from Riku, back towards the endless sea and the endless sky, her eyes still closed.

“My duty and the duty of my _assistant,_ ” Igor cut in, voice lilting, “is to provide aid to all who visit here, so that they may avoid such a… dire path. Your heart is adrift, cut loose from all you know. But now, in this ocean, you are tethered to us, and we are thus connected to you. When you return, you may find our… _situation_ has changed considerably, anchored to your oath. This is the nature of contracts—to give, and to receive. A raft, like the kind you lie on now, simply won’t _do._ Until that times comes, Riku, I bid you adieu. You can wake up now.”

“Wha—?” Riku began, before the sky exploded. Stars, their lights both delicate and grand, popped into and out of existence in waves, dancing in colors that Riku had never seen. He marveled at, and he mourned, the lives of those stars within this tiny universe. A moon— _his_ moon—hung, huge and full, over him. For a moment, the sea below was a perfect  
mirror, and it was beautiful.

But then, clouds that seemed to spring forth from the sea below, and then form in the sky above, broke the moment. The wind, where was there had been none, whipped around him. Riku was cold, the first surge of feeling in his body since he’d awoken. Riku felt his raft grow unsteady, pulled faster by the newfound current. The waves, once a comfort, grew higher and higher around him. He turned to Igor and Aqua, only to find them gone. He began to yell for help…

Then there was only black.

xxx

_“You can wake up now.”_

The train moved steadily on from Tokyo, most within its confines unaware of any strange dreams or cloaked men or serious women. The sky outside was clear, not a cloud in sight. Somewhere, along the long line of that train, Riku snapped awake as his head whacked against the window of the train car. The car itself was unremarkable, save for its relative lack of passengers and Riku himself, who held his head in mild pain and moderate irritation. The pain passed after a minute, but Riku figured he’d have a bruise later. Great.

Outside the window, beyond thew smudge that Riku’s head had left, the scenery passed by at a steady clip. Blossoming trees lined a wide river, with flat floodplains and lush farmland beyond that. Riku thought he’d even seen a cow. Huh. _How far away from it all did Terra live, anyway?_ His parents had described Hirata as a small town, but he hadn’t been expecting it to be quite so… _small._ Though, he supposed, you could call it big, just not in the way Riku was used to. If he was being honest with himself, he had known that most things would pale in comparison to the _more_ of Tokyo. But it wasn’t as if he’d had any choice about moving.

_“You always have a choice.”_

Riku’s head twinged in pain, and he put a hand back to it, gently massaging the spot where it had met the glass. How had had he hit it? He looked for something to focus on within the car, and found only an advertisement for Calorie Magic, an… energy drink, maybe? It was unclear; most of the ad was taken up by the smiling face of an idol—Kai… something?—promising that the drink was one “even she could handle.” Riku wasn’t entirely sure what _that_ was supposed to mean, but it was probably stupid.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, a text from his uncle, simply a “See you soon.” Terra Okiayu, from what little Riku remembered of him and their one phone conversation, wasn’t the type to waste words. The text almost worried him. Had there been a chance Terra _wouldn’t_ be waiting for him? He dismissed the notion. No. Terra was probably… nice enough. Hopefully.

A voice came over the train’s speakers, announcing the train’s imminent arrival to Hirata. Riku stood, stretched, gathered his belongings, and moved to the opposite side of the train. He waited, staring down at his phone.

And waited.

He’d probably moved too early, come to think of it. But there wasn’t any sense in sitting back down. May as well commit. There were no new messages, aside from Terra’s. His feeds were all similarly boring. A few of his schoolmates—the ones he’d actually spoken to more than a few times—had wished him safe travels… days ago.

Riku knew he’d been a bit of a loner in Tokyo, though never intentionally. When people wanted him to hang, he’d accepted, stayed long enough to make conversation or eat a meal, and then left before he missed the last train home. Though he’d never admit it to his parents, he was almost glad for a new school, a new town. Maybe he could con someone into being his friend for longer than it took him to wolf down a bowl of ramen.

As he mused about the new friends he might make—were other teenagers interested in… sports?—the train came to a slow stop. The few other passengers rose from their seats, obviously more accustomed to traveling to the sticks than Riku, who’d only ever ridden on trains where the passenger count could only be called “standing room only.”

The station was old, dust piling in the corners. There was no board to announce when a train would come. One train arrived daily, and one trained left daily, going to and from Tokyo without a single stop. The station’s lone attendant, seeing the train pull in, began to sweep cherry blossoms off the platform from where the train had blown them in.

Outside the station, the sun was just beginning to touch the horizon, painting the sky in streaks of orange and pink. Looking out into the adjoined parking lot, Riku saw three cars, two of which were already pulling out. As he approached the third—an old, white station wagon, dented on one side near the wheel, a spare tire affixed to the tailgate—a man stepped out.

“Thought you’d figure it out,” he said. He was taller than Riku, brown hair cut haphazard and close near his ears and feathered out around the top. The man’s button-down was crumpled but clean, tie hanging loose around his neck. He scrubbed at his eyes before extending a hand to Riku. “I’m Terra Okiayu, but, uh, just call me Terra, alright? I get enough Okiayu-san at the office. And this is…” The man paused and ducked back into the car. “You still asleep, Strife?” Riku heard a deep sigh from inside the vehicle, and the passenger-side door clunked open.

Another man stepped out, bottle-blond hair styled in every direction. Maybe styled was generous; it looked more as if its owner had made no attempt to control it. Riku squashed the urge to fix his own hair, brushing at the nape of his neck even though he knew it lay straight as ever.

“Hey,” said the man. “Name’s Cloud. I work with your uncle. And, _Okiayu-san_ , I wasn’t asleep to begin with.” He glared at the back of Terra’s head, who barely noticed the ribbing.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Riku said, extending his hand to shake Terra’s.

Terra stared at the hand for a moment before taking it. “There’s no need to be so formal. I’m not that much older than you, really.” Cloud laughed, and Terra turned to him. “You didn’t have to come, Cloud.”

“And miss out on seeing you ‘relate with the youth?’ Please. You couldn’t pay me to stay away.”

Terra bristled at that, and returned his attention to Riku. “Anyway…” He paused, clearly hoping for Riku to say something. Riku, for his part, just stared, an approximation of a smile working its way onto his face. “You’re a lot taller than I remember. More handsome than in your photo, too.”

“Thank… you?” Riku shifted onto his other foot, the wheels of his suitcase rolling as he adjusted his grip. A moment passed, and then another.

“Well, then… Let’s get going? You can load your things into the back.”

The drive back into Hirata proper was a relatively short one, and blessedly quiet. Riku thumbed at his phone, hoping that it would be enough to ward off any other attempts at conversation from Terra. Cloud was resting his eyes… or so he said.

“I need some gas,” Terra said to no one in particular. “I’m going to stop for gas. We can stretch our legs a little.” In the mirror, Riku saw him smile.

He pulled into a small station with only two pumps to its name, sitting on the edge of what appeared to be the town’s shopping district. Riku stretched as he got out of the car, the journey finally catching up to him. Cloud appeared to be well and truly passed out in the passenger seat, breathing steady and silent. Riku would give anything to trade places with him. While he yawned, an attendant came up and started chatting blithely with Terra. Riku only heard the end of the conversation, coming in on Terra saying “—moved here from the big city.”

“The _big city_ , huh?” the attendant said, turning to Riku.

“Tokyo,” Riku said, immediately feeling at once put on the spot and pitied. Over the attendant’s shoulder, Riku saw Terra wince in sympathy. Clearly, he hadn’t meant to invite the attendant to speak to Riku, but here they were.

“Wow! I betcha you must be _so_ bored already.” The attendant laughed. “At least there’s Setzer’s exhibition coming up. That should be enough to keep the town lively for, oh, a week or so.” He laughed again, staring at Riku like Riku, too, should be laughing.

“Setzer?” Riku asked, and regretted it immediately.

“Oh _yeah_ , Setzer’s the most famous person in town! I can’t _believe_ that guy,” he gestured over his shoulder at Terra, “didn’t tell you about him! He’s an ice skater, and a _really_ good one, too. He goes out all across Japan, but he always comes back here to Hirata. He’s a great man! You should _totally_ see him in action!”

“I’m going to get some instant coffee for the house from the station,” Terra said, pushing himself into the conversation and immediately raising himself up in Riku’s esteem. “Do you want to…?” He jerked his head subtly towards the shops. He looked irritated, though Riku couldn’t place why, nor was he invested enough to question it. Riku’d take any excuse to get away from this.

“Oh, yeah, you should _totally_ take a look around! You never know what you might find!” He stretched his hand out, only to find that Riku had ignored the man and was walking away.

He’d nearly ran.

Instead, though, Riku walked calmly towards the shops running along the hill. There were a few people milling about, but the area looked, though not necessarily run-down, a little overlooked. A few storefronts were boarded up, faded notices mentioning that they had gone out of business and that long-time customers could contact the previous owners with any questions they might have.

A couple places caught Riku’s eye as he meandered about: a shop with brightly painted signs and pastel-tinted flowers sitting along the exterior, something called Leonhart Metalworks blowing thick heat into the cooling afternoon, and a shrine up the hill from the main area of the district. Other than that, Riku had to admit that the attendant, incessantly perky as he was, had been right. There wasn’t much at all to do.

As he started to wander back towards the gas station, he felt someone’s eyes on him. Riku looked over his shoulder only to see a girl, probably about his age, several feet back. She stopped in her tracks as their eyes met. Her short hair was as dark as her black attire, and her blue eyes were averted now from his gaze. She held in her hands a piece of scrap paper.

“Yeah?” he hazarded. He knew it was paranoid to believe that she’d actually been following him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

“You dropped this,” she said quietly, holding her hand out. He turned to fully face her and took the paper from her hand, his fingertips brushing hers. He opened it carefully on the off-chance that it had been laced with something. Instead of anthrax, however, he found Terra’s address. Hadn’t that been in his jacket… in the car?

“Where did you…?” he started, eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the paper.

“I found it at the train station. You left before I could find you and I was going to throw it away, but then I noticed you walking around here, and I thought it might be important. You seemed adrift.”

 _Ow._ Riku held a hand up to the spot where he’d hit his head, now throbbing in pain. “What did you just say?”

“I said that you looked lost,” she said. The pain was gone. He looked up from the ground, and the girl’s face seemed… sad, somehow. “I’m sorry if I bothered you.” And with that, she turned around and went walking back up the hill.

Great. First person he met without his uncle’s help, and he’d acted like an idiot.

How had she gotten here so fast? Terra hadn’t gotten stuck in traffic, and they’d only been here for a few minutes. Then again, he’d obeyed the speed limit to the letter, and had taken the main roads. Maybe there was a back road?

How bizarre.

The afternoon ended unceremoniously. Terra dropped Cloud off within the maze of houses that constituted Hirata’s residential district. Nothing about it looked planned-out or regimented. The area was almost organic in that way, strange styles and odd sizes coexisting side-by-side, a small forest of poles and wires connecting them all. The streets were narrow, mostly one-ways, as if the people building the roads had a singular destination in mind and were surprised to learn that they could go farther. You could get lost here, and Riku felt, almost, like he was home again. The lights were just beginning to come on in the neighborhood as Terra pulled up to a small two-story home.

Once inside, Riku took stock of the place where he’d be spending the next year. It was cozier than his parents’ apartment in Tokyo. The apartment had been devoid of personality, but every inch of this house held a story within, enough that Riku wasn’t sure he’d ever have the time to learn them all. It looked as if it had been recently cleaned and Riku wondered how much of the cleanliness was an effort to impress—or, at least, not scare off—Riku. Terra lived alone. For all Riku knew, the place had been a total bachelor pad before he’d arrived, underwear thrown haphazardly among dirty dishes… or worse.

“I hope you don’t mind takeout,” Terra said, rummaging through the fridge. “It’s sushi, so it should’ve kept well. Never had much of a talent for cooking, myself. How about you?”

“Well,” Riku said, “I learned early, you know? Mom and Dad work a lot. I’m not the greatest at it, but I can fend for myself.” Terra looked at him, gave an affirming “Hmm,” and handed Riku his sushi.

Riku took the offered food and sat at the chabudai. There was something strange, he thought, about it being in this house. It was familial in a place with no family to speak of. When was the appropriate time to ask something like that?

Terra came over, handing Riku a can of TaP Soda and sat down beside him. There was an easy silence, less awkward than earlier had been, until Terra cleared his throat and cracked the tab on his can. “Let’s have a toast. To the outcasts.”

“To the outcasts?” Riku said.

“You said it yourself. Your mom and dad are pretty busy, and it’s not as if I have anyone around here. It’s a new situation for the both of us, and you seem like you could use someone to look out for you. I won’t lie, it’ll be pretty nice having someone around. We’re family, sure, but you don’t really know me, yet… So! To the outcasts.” Riku got the sense, both from his earlier impressions and from the faint red dusting Terra’s cheeks, that this was new for Terra, trying to connect with someone just for the sake of connection.

Riku smiled. “I appreciate that, Terra.”

“And maybe one day you’ll learn to be a little less formal.” Terra laughed, deep and loud. Riku liked the sound, and felt his shoulders loosen up as he laughed with his uncle. They toasted their drinks and ate in companionable silence.

_RIIIIIIIIIIING._

“Shit. That’s my work phone,” Terra said, taking a long drink.

_RIIIIIIIIIIING._

“I should probably get it. Might be important.”

_RIIIIIIIIIIING._

Terra sighed, picking up his cell phone from where it had been tossed onto the couch earlier. “Okiayu speaking.” He stood, walking to the table separating the kitchen from the rest of the room proper. “I see. Where?” He went to the coat rack, removing his jacket and putting it on. “I’ll be there soon.”

He looked back at Riku, face and tone apologetic. “I’m sorry. I have to go take care of something. Go ahead and finish up. Your room’s upstairs. Third door on the right. Bathroom’s second on the right. If you need anything, you have my number.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Riku said. “I was going to head to bed early, anyway. School, you know?”

“Hah! Good kid,” Terra said. “Oh, almost forgot to mention. You don’t know the way over yet, so I asked Cloud’s kid brother to come over and show you the way. He’ll be here pretty early. Name’s Sora.”

“Sora. Got it. Thank you, Terra.”

“And here I was, saying I’d be around the look after you.” Terra laughed, but this time it was hollow. “This doesn’t happen often, I swear.” He opened the door, just as a crack of thunder rumbled through the sky. “Looks like rain. If you need an umbrella tomorrow, check the hall closet. It’s— Well, it’s the other door on the left. I’m heading out.”

“Be safe!” Riku called from his spot on the floor. He wasn’t quite tired yet, and he still needed to finish and clean up the remains of his dinner, so he turned the television in the corner on. The light illuminated the living room, bathing everything in fluorescent blue.

The reporter droned on about the weather for a moment—rain all the next day—before the image of a young woman appeared on the screen.

“In other news, the priest Auron Ishikawa has come under fire for allegedly extorting money from several local shrines, including his own. His daughter, enka ballad sensation Yuna has publicly defended her father, who remains under police custody at an undisclosed location. Now, a word from our sponsors.”

A jingle played from the television, catchy and easy to remember, something that Riku was sure that kids around the area would be plaguing their parents with for the foreseeable future. Junes, the store in question, seemed to be a large department store on the edge of town.

The commercial played for a moment, before repeating the jingle: “Every day’s great at your Junes.” Ooookay. Enough television.

Riku finished his dinner, grabbed a quick shower, and changed into the pajamas he’d packed near the top of his bag. He hadn’t been lying to Terra; he really did want to get a good night’s sleep. Especially with how wiped he still was from the train ride.

His room was a wreck, boxes everywhere, but the bed, the most important thing, was clear. He could worry about everything else tomorrow.

xxx

He could hear no oceans.

He could see nothing. Yet, he was standing. That was an improvement. He took a step, put one tentative foot in front of the other. He made his way in the darkness, walking in a singular direction, towards a singular location, his heart his only guide.

There seemed to be no end in sight. Would he be trapped here forever? He had felt safe in the ocean. Here, in the darkness, there was no sense of forward or backwards. He could have been walking in circles for all he knew. If he were destined to perish here, he thought, would he be tortured for an eternity until his doom?

“What do you seek?” a voice called from the dark.

“Who’s there?” Riku asked, turning his head back and forth, hoping against hope that he might see someone, anyone, who could guide him through this nightmare. “Help me!”

There was a calm laugh. Then, there was a path before him, stained glass panels illuminating, one by one, their path, too, endless. “A light for your darkness, then. Is this the path you seek, something so distinct?”

Riku ran, moving from panel to panel, towards where he knew he would find the voice.

The path was falling away, behind him, catching up slowly, but steadily. As a panel came into existence, so too did one fade and fall into the abyss. Riku ran faster, trying with all his might to outpace the darkness.

“Try as you might, you cannot fight the darkness. It comes, deeper than night and more final than death,” the voice rang. The panels were disappearing faster now, and coming into existence more slowly. Soon, Riku would catch up to them. Soon, the darkness would close in.

And then, another voice, unknown and yet familiar, “Giving up already? I thought you were stronger than that.” Riku felt lighter, more energized. He caught up to the edge of the panels, and leapt.

When he landed, on the perfect circle of glass, he could hear the thudding of his heart, the blood pumping through his veins. “I’m ready to face it. I’m not afraid.”

The second voice laughed, “Not yet, you’re not. I’m sorry, but you can’t fight the darkness alone. But you’ll have your chance, soon enough. Until then…”

The voice took form, curved sword in hand, and rushed at him. He didn’t have time to react as the blade pushed through his chest. “Brace yourself,” was the last thing the voice said, before it faded into him. From the darkness, he pulled his own sword and, though, the darkness showed no sign of abating, he felt his eyes adjust, slowly.

He felt the first voice return, even before it spoke, “Hm… It seems you can see a little, despite the darkness. I wonder… Is it because you walk along the edge of darkness, yourself? If true is what you seek, your search will be long, difficult, impossible.”

“I don’t care.”

Riku drove his blade into the ground at his feet, light exploding from the place where the glass broke and shattered, revealing its true form. Deep blues and purples crystallized, and spread from beneath him, spreading and shining against the force of the voice.

“Ha!” The voice cackled, high and distinct. “I cannot wait to see what you shall become, little warrior. We shall meet again, at a place other than here. I look forward to it.”

And then Riku was falling, back and into the abyss, the light of the circle above him and then farther, and farther.

He felt himself slipping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Welcome, and thanks for joining me on this journey. It's going to be a long one, and one that earns its keep... or so I hope!
> 
> Despite the notion of the plot coming heavily from Persona 4, my hope is to tell a story that, while hitting on a few of the larger beats of the Persona 4 story, still manages to draw more from Kingdom Hearts and does its own thing. This is a fic for folks who enjoy Kingdom Hearts, and for folks who enjoy both Kingdom Hearts and Persona. (Sorry, people who only enjoy Persona. I am not sure how you found me, but I'm glad you're here all the same!)
> 
> That being said, I'm going to make every effort to ensure that the Persona elements are well-explained and contextualized. If you found this chapter confusing, and you've never played a Persona game, you're in luck! No one understands what's happening in a Persona game until a few hours in. (And I'm sure you're all used to being a little confused.) I hope you'll stick with me! If folks are still confused after a bit more exposition, I'll include a glossary or a rundown of the elements that will be relevant to understanding the story (... or go back and do some editing, haha...).
> 
> I agonized for a bit over whether to include the ship tag for Riku/Sora, but ultimately decided that the relationship was fundamental enough to the story I wanted to tell that I didn't mind spoiling the endgame. Plus, if any of y'all interact with me whatsoever, I basically can't shut up about how much those kids love each other. Mind the Slow Burn tag. 
> 
> Pay close attention to the tags and any pre-chapter notes, since I'll warn for anything that's toeing the line or might be upsetting. Rating, too, is subject to change.
> 
> Special thanks to Tea for being here since this fic's inception (way back in August 2018), and to Nan and Cass for helping guide my hand (and for putting up with being confused).
> 
> You can find me on Twitter @metamagicmelody. Not much there right now, but I'll post updates and some random snippets there. Please don't follow unless you're 18 or over!
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!


	2. Update (4/19/19)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author offers an explanation...

Hey there,

Just thought I'd give a real quick update to the status of this fic.

I posted the first chapter a touch prematurely and, while I'm absolutely going to continue working on this, much of this fic won't be posted until I finish. At most, over the next bit, the next chapter or so may get posted, since they're currently in production, but I want to really strive to have a complete work before I start posting again. This is for a number of reasons...

1\. My attention is split. Writing is not my full time job and, as I'll be attending law school this fall, I'd rather keep y'all updated now rather than in, say, December.

2\. I write pretty slowly, partially because of the first item and partially because this fic is legitimately a Lot to write.

3\. Going off of that, the reason I really want to hold off is because, since this fic is a fusion, and an adaptation, and some shit I'm pulling from whole cloth, there has to be a lot of attention, imo, paid to whether or not it all gels. I don't want to turn into Nomura, constantly having to "retcon" things because I decided better later down the line. Especially not in something like a mystery, where foreshadowing and such are really important.

4\. I do have other projects, including some non-fanfiction projects. See #s 1 and 2. 

5\. I respect y'all's time too much to dribble out content slowly. Even if this isn't my job, I'd still like to be on a schedule of some sort. Easier to do that when I've finished the beast.

I really appreciate the feedback and kind comments I've received on this fic so far. They make my day!

**TL;DR - Fic not abandoned, just going to finish and put myself on a posting schedule once it is. Might take a minute, but it'll happen.**

Best, 

Mac


End file.
